Susan Wright wrote on February 28 about Dr. Ben Carson’s Department of Housing and Urban Development purchasing a $31,000 dining room set for the HUD office last year and how Carson and his wife Candy Carson claimed to be unaware of the pricey purchase, but CNN reported today that emails imply Carson was involved in the selection of the furniture.

When the news first came out, HUD spokesman Raffi Williams told CNN that “Mrs. Carson and the secretary had no awareness that the table was being purchased” and told the New York Times that “the secretary does want to be as fiscally prudent as possible with the taxpayers’ money.”

Carson released a statement to CNN on March 1, saying he had been told “there was a $25,000 budget that had to be used by a certain time,” he was “as surprised as anyone to find out that a $31,000 dining set had been ordered,” and he had “requested that the order be canceled.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and the company confirmed the order had been canceled on March 1.

However, in August 2017, a career administration staffer sent an email to Carson’s assistant with the subject line “Secretary’s dining room set needed” and mentioned “printouts of the furniture the Secretary and Mrs. Carson picked out” within the body of the email.

When asked yesterday to explain the new details and the inconsistency, spokesman Williams told CNN “when presented with options by professional staff, Mrs. Carson participated in the selection of specific styles.”

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